Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter science fiction video game developed by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the original Xbox console and, due to the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility, can be played on its successor console. It is the second game in the main trilogy, and the sequel to Halo: Combat Evolved. '' ''Halo 2 ''was released on November 9, 2004. It would later be released for PC in 2007. Its existence was due to the massive success its predecessor, ''Halo: Combat Evolved, garnered during its debut, a success it continued on with in its release. Like the game before it, Halo 2 sparked huge success, selling well over 8.46 million copies as of November 2008. The game's online servers (only on Xbox) were shut down permanently on April 15, 2010, when the original Xbox Live network was discontinued by Microsoft. Halo 2 ''would later be ported to PC in ''Halo 2 Vista. ''Later, on November 9, 2014, ''Halo 2 Anniversary would be released on the game's tenth anniversary, as a remastered version of the original game, which was released inside Halo: The Master Chief Collection ''for Xbox One. Story Plot '' Halo 2's' ''' campaign is a step forward from ''Halo: Combat Evolved, as it takes much more length to explore the lore of the Halo universe than its predecessor did. Where Halo: Combat Evolved focused more on the gameplay and progression of the story within the limits given to it, Halo 2 is far more open. Also, the player is taken to many more locations (Earth, Delta Halo, High CharityHigh Charity, etc.)' '''instead of just one ( Installation 04Alpha Halo).' Despite this,' Halo 2's'' campaign is still linear, and only has one ending, like the rest of the games in the franchise. However, in place of the original ten levels, the game now sports fifteen, and explores more of the universe in one game than possibly all the games in the franchise entirely. The game starts where Halo: Combat Evolved ''began; the Soell System. The ruins of Alpha Halo loom in orbit around Threshold, where High Charity, the Covenant's holy city, rests in orbit, along with its entire fleet. A single CAS-Class Assault Carrier glides past as the scene cuts to the Council Chamber, where Thel 'Vadamee is being held on trial for his failure to protect Halo. Afterwards, Thel is branded a heretic and sentenced to brand the mark of shame. Disgruntled, he is escorted out by Chieftain Tartarus' brutes. Cutting to Cairo Station in orbit over Earth, John-117 is seen outfitted in his new MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI. The game then continues with Johnson escorting to an awards ceremony. While this is happening, the scenes cut between the ceremony on Cairo Station, and to Thel being branded with the mark back on High Charity. Eventually, the scene culminates with Cortana informing Admiral Hood that a Covenant fleet of fifteen ships just appeared in orbit over Earth. Announcing battlestations, Hood orders John-117 to defend the station from any and all boarders. John-117 successfully manages to repel the initial wave of Covenant forces, but after the abrupt destruction of both Malta and Athens Stations, Cortana discovers that the Covenant are bringing onboard antimatter bombs to destroy the space stations. His new objective in sight, John-117 continues to deflect the Covenant assault, pushing through until finally confiscating the bomb. After doing so, he daringly jumps out the airlock with it, managing to detonate it inside a CAS-Class Assault Carrier before being retrieved by the [[UNSC In Amber Clad|UNSC ''In Amber Clad]]. Leaving the battle above Earth, the In Amber Clad ''deploys John-117 and Johnson in a flight of Pelicans into the city of Old Mombasa. Halfway in, they run into and are shot down by a Scarab. After the encounter, John-117 and the surviving marines fought their way through the city towards the ''Solemn Penance, the carrier holding the High Prophet of Regret. The fight continued into New Mombasa, where John-117 finally cornered, boarded and destroyed the Scarab. However, afterwards, the Solemn Penance decided to try and escape, so John-117 evacuated to In Amber Clad, and they caught the Penance ''as it entered slipspace. The resulting explosion engulfed New and Old Mombasas, engulfing it in white light. The story cuts back to the disgraced Supreme Commander, Thel 'Vadamee, being escorted from his cell in the brig by Tartarus and his brutes to be shown to the High Prophets of Mercy and Truth. Upon arriving however, the intent is shown to be different, and after waving Tartarus off, Truth and Mercy exchange words with Thel 'Vadamee. After a time, they present him a mission; find the Heretic Leader Sesa 'Refumee, along with all the heretics, and kill them all. To do this, Thel 'Vadamee becomes the Arbiter, saving him from the disgrace of execution. Afterwards, a flight of phantoms carrying a small strike force, lead by Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee, and accompanied by the Arbiter, arrives at the gas mine on Threshold, where the heretics are based. Upon landing, they immediately begin their assault on the heretics' base, pushing them further into the structure. However, after further pushing into the structure, they force Sesa's hand, and he releases the Flood present on the installation. However, this does not stop the Arbiter, and he continues to pursue Sesa 'Refumee while fighting heretics, Sentinels and Flood. He is even forced to cut the cable tethering the mine to the gas mine's orbit, sending it into freefall. Finally, he corners the heretic leader in the hangar bay, where he meets 343 Guilty Spark. After a brief battle, the Arbiter kills Sesa 'Refumee and is extracted by Phantom, after Tartarus incapacitates and captures 343 Guilty Spark. He then informs the Arbiter that they are "leaving this system." The story cuts back to John-117, where the ''Solemn Penance ''arrives in the Coelest System, particularly in orbit over the gas giant Substance, dragging the ''In Amber Clad ''along with it. Here, they discover yet another Halo, Delta Halo. Wasting no time, John-117 and a squad of ODSTs are deployed onto the surface, where they immediately assault the established Covenant entrenchments, attempting to renew their attempts to assassinate Regret. After learning about Regret's intent to activate Halo, John-117 continues pushing towards the main temple structure where Regret is located. Through hacking into the Covenant BattleNet, Cortana learns that Regret has contacted High Charity, begging for forgiveness, and in response, the entire Covenant Navy, along with High Charity, is heading for the system. Desperate, they push forward more rapidly, reaching the temple just as High Charity and its fleet arrive in orbit. John-117 manages to slay Regret, jumping into the lake just as the ''Penance ''glasses the temple. From below, John-117 is carried further into the lake by a tentacle, belonging to the Gravemind. The story once again cuts back to the Arbiter, who is walking towards the Inner Sanctum of the Hierarchs, where he witnesses the Changing of the Guard. When he enters, he finds Rtas 'Vadumee explaining to Mercy and Truth the outrage of the High Council over their decision to move the Elites from their position as Honor Guards to the Brutes. Truth explains that the death of Regret has made the Elites' incompetence in the position quite clear. Defeated, Rtas 'Vadumee leaves, shooting the Arbiter a look. After dismissing Rtas, Truth and Mercy present the Arbiter with his next mission; go down to Delta Halo and retrieve the Sacred Icon. Tartarus deploys Arbiter from his phantom, and he proceeds to bring down the Shield Wall. However, this action causes the Flood to pour out, and he is forced to fight through hordes of Flood and squadrons of Sentinels to reach the other side. After meeting with Rtas at an Elite camp, the Arbiter informs him of his mission. Leading a lance of Elites, they continue to push towards Delta Halo's Library, while continuing to fight Flood and Sentinels. Near the end however, it becomes quite apparent that the humans are also after the Icon, and so a race begins. The Arbiter manages to arrive soon enough to stop the humans (Miranda and Johnson) from escaping. He knocks Johnson unconscious, while Tartarus captures Miranda, and retrieves the Icon. From here, Tartarus betrays the Arbiter, revealing that he is planning a great uprising to caste down the Elites. When the Arbiter states that this treachery will cause the prophets to execute him, Tartarus responds that "they ordered me to do it." With that said, Tartarus hits the Arbiter with a gravity pulse, sending him hurling over the edge to his intended death. The scene unravels to reveal John-117 captured by the Gravemind and, not long after, reveals that the Arbiter is in fact alive, also captured by the Gravemind. The Gravemind, using the captured 2401 Penitent Tangent and the infected form of Regret to explain to the Arbiter the parallels between the religious zealotry of the Covenant, and the actual truth. Through this, he tries to convince the Elite that the Great Journey is a lie, and that Halo is actually a weapon that once activated, will wipe out all life in the galaxy. The Arbiter, still not quite convinced, remains persistent. In his final act of persuasion, the Gravemind sends them both to seperate locations with one mission: find the Index and retrieve it before the Covenant activates Halo. John-117 is teleported to High Charity, specifically into the Council Chamber, in time to interrupt Truth's galactic address to the Covenant during the Great Schism. Retrieving a weapon, he proceeds to kill everyone in the Council Chamber, before proceeding to fight his way through the city in pursuit of Mercy and Truth. During this, he bares witness to the civil war sparking in the Covenant's ranks, with the Covenant Loyalists and Covenant Separatists factions fighting in the streets and in orbit. John-117 also watches the ''In Amber Clad ''jump into High Charity, crashing into one of the towers to reveal that it was infected with the Flood; revealing the Gravemind's betrayal. Infection forms catch up to Truth and Mercy and attack their guards. One manages to break through and attack Mercy, but when Tartarus goes to help, Truth waves him off, stating the Great Journey waits for noone, "not even you." He then embarks on his waiting phantom. Meanwhile, the Arbiter is teleported to the surface of Delta Halo, near the Control Room. Traversing the area, he bares witness to the slaughter of his race, and the beginning of the Covenant Civil War. Rallying surviving separatists, he fights the loyalist forces in a push towards the Control Room, where he then locates and destroys a loyalist camp. From there, he continues towards the Control Room, where he runs into Rtas 'Vadumee in a Wraith. When asked, the Arbiter reveals that the High Council was murdered by the Brutes, saying so just as Tartarus' phantom arrives at the Control Room, along with the captured Miranda. Back on High Charity, John-117 arrives just in time for Truth's and Tartarus' phantoms to leave, and Mercy dies when he removes the infection form killing him. Cortana remains on High Charity with the promise to detonate the ''In Amber Clad's engines, destroying High Charity and Delta Halo, ironically comparing it to what they did the last time. With her fate sealed, John-117 fights through the hordes of Flood quickly spreading through High Charity and the loyalist forces within, before finally finding a way to board Truth's dreadnought, boarding it just as it disconnects from High Charity's power grid and enters slipspace. Back on Halo, the Arbiter enlists Rtas 'Vadumee's help in breaking into the Control Room. Rtas 'Vadumee takes the Arbiter to another Forerunner installation, where a Scarab is parked. Once there, Rtas takes his leave to board and hijack a Loyalist-controlled CCS-Class Battlecruiser. The Arbiter proceeds inside, where he is aided by more separatist troops against the loyalists, even helping to release some loyalist POWs. Once outside, he saves a few human marines from execution, but not before Johnson commandeers the Scarab. Forced into an unexpected alliance, the Arbiter escorts Johnson's Scarab to the Control Room, where he blows open the entrance with the Scarab's main gun. Moving inside, the Arbiter stops Tartarus, explaining Halo's true purpose with the help of 343 Guilty Spark. Still blinded by loyalty, Tartarus engages the Arbiter in a duel. After one final battle, the Arbiter slays Tartarus, and Miranda manages to retrieve the Index before Halo fires, but not before it sends the other installations into standby mode. When asked, 343 Guilty Spark explains that only from the Ark can the remaining Halo rings be fired. The Arbiter then enters, asking where it is located. Back at Earth, Truth's dreadnought arrives in orbit, and Hood orders it shot down. John-117 contacts Hood to explain that he is onboard, and when asked why, he responds with "Sir, finishing this fight." The game then ends. In a cutscene shown after the credits, we see the Flood have completely infested High Charity, and Cortana still trapped there. The Gravemind demands that she answer its questions, and she appears, saying "shoot." Campaign On average, Halo 2' ''s campaign takes about 9 hours and 9 minutes to complete, and 14 hours and 45 minutes when playing it leisurely. In the game, there are a total of fifteen levels; five more than that present in ''Halo: Combat Evolved's campaign. Halo 2 is also the first and last Halo ''game to have 'symbiotic' coupling levels. This means that, in the game, two levels can link into each other (Eg. Outskirts and Metropolis are 'symbiotic' missions, because when you finish Outskirts, it immediately links into Metropolis, which is based in the same location, and is pretty much based immediately after the previous level, unlike other games, where the levels were based minutes/hours/days apart from each other). ''Halo 2 ''also represents the first game where you can play as a character other than John-117. The game is played from two perspectives: John-117 and Thel 'Vadamee, the Arbiter. Like the previous game, the cutscenes are rendered using the in-game graphics engine. The fifteen levels of the game are: Characters UNSC= Main characters *John-117 *Cortana *Avery Johnson *Miranda Keyes *Admiral Hood Minor characters *Fleet Admiral Harper *Major Easley *Marcus Stacker *Marcus Banks *Perez *McKenzie *Jones *Butkus *O'Brien *Parsons *Walpole *Unnamed Lieutenant *Cairo Station Armourer *Chips Dubbo *Remi *Pascal |-| Covenant= Main characters *Thel 'Vadamee *Rtas 'Vadumee *Tartarus *High Prophet of Truth *High Prophet of Mercy *High Prophet of Regret Minor characters *Prophet of Disdain *Prophet of Pity *Prophet of Objection |-| The Heretics= Main characters *Sesa 'Refumee |-| Forerunner= Main characters *343 Guilty Spark Minor characters *2401 Penitent Tangent |-| The Flood= Main characters *Gravemind Features Summary ''Halo: Combat Evolved ''was mainly praised on how it changed the first-person genre with its advanced AI, new gameplay style and the changes it brought. ''Halo 2 continues this innovative style, but with its own, unique features added upon it, as well as its own extensions upon those previous features. The game's graphics are also a slight improvement over that of Halo: Combat Evolved, and the game utilizes cutscenes much more than the original game did, which used them to begin and end levels, and were usually brief. *'Storyline Execution': This differs largely from Halo: Combat Evolved, which had a much more linear style of story-telling than its sequel. Whereas Halo: Combat Evolved ''told the story through a series of brief cutscenes and largely through gameplay, ''Halo 2 ''utilizes both much more openly. Cutscenes are longer, more intense and dynamic, and are now the main force behind driving the story. Gameplay plays this is a minimal role, but this opens the way for it to be more fun, epic and suspenseful. As a result, ''Halo 2's soundtrack improves to a degree to help establish this change in pace. As a result, the story is also more complex, multi-layered and 'episodic,' where it changes from the perspectives of John-117 to Thel 'Vadamee periodically. *'Vehicular Incorporation': Vehicular control from a third-person view has returned in Halo 2, with little change. The system is largely the same, however, vehicles are no longer indestructible, and can be destroyed when enough damage occurs. Supplementing this is a new array of vehicles, as well as the return of vehicles present in Halo: Combat Evolved. *'Weapon System': Also largely unchanged is the weapon system. The aspect of a limit of two weapons at a time, and the grenades being mapped to a seperate button is the same, and some weapons from the previous game have even returned, ableit slightly different or improved. However, a new system is the ability to 'dual-wield' certain types of weapons, largely one-handed ones. This allows you to hold two of the same weapon in akimbo simultaneously, improving gameplay. *'Artificial Intelligence': Largely unchanged, with slight improvements to tweak whatever bugs existed, and others to improve overall performance. Some new enemy types require different AI coding, which is present in Halo 2, which means some enemies have the ability to grab onto surfaces, slash, or even taunt the player with either physical movements, or they will mock the player verbally. Movement in Halo 2 ''is relatively simple, and the same as every other shooter of its time period. The player can move backwards and forwards, left and right. They can look up and down, side to side, or in circles. On the Xbox, this is done through the use of the analogue sticks (left stick to move, right to look), while on PC, this is done through using W, A, S, D (or the arrow keys or whatever buttons are mapped to those operations) for movement, and the mouse is used for looking around. You can also crouch and jump; crouching is useful when utilizing low cover, and jumping for getting to high to reach areas. However, unlike ''Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 ''does not have a fall damage system, which means jumping from any height to land (with the exception of kill barriers) will not deal any damage to the player. Health System ''Halo 2 ''features a large change in regards to its health system. In ''Halo: Combat Evolved, the player had two layers; shields and health. This was represented by the shield bar in the top right corner of the screen, followed by the eight health bars below it. However, in Halo 2, this system is removed. However, contrary to popular belief, this does not mean that Halo 2 doesn't have a shield and health system; it does. However, it is largely changed in terms of how it is represented on the player's HUD. In Halo 2, the shield bar is now seen on the bottom left of the screen, and is located ontop of the motion tracker. As a result, the shield bar is now much smaller, meaning the player's shields now fall much faster, leaving them vulnerable alot more frequently than in Halo: Combat Evolved. ''However, this is remedied with the time between shield recharge being drastically decreased, but the shields themselves, when recharging, do so much faster, usually within a couple of seconds. This helps to keep gameplay fair. Also, like in ''Halo: Combat Evolved, the shield bar is recognized by the small 'shield' symbol beside it. Many think that the absence of a health bar on the HUD means there is no health. This is incorrect. Health is present, it simply isn't represented on the HUD. However, like the shields, it is incredibly small, and hardly noticable, and will go down as fast as the shields. To an ordinary view, it just appears that when the shields go down, the player can absorb a bit more damage afterwards before dying. This is because of the hidden health; and unlike in Halo: Combat Evolved, where you must find health packs to recharge it (health packs are non-existent in Halo 2), they recharge along with the shields. The shield bar appears to change color slightly to represent the damage taken to the player's health. The shield bar, once depleted, will make the same beeping sounds and red flashes that were present in Halo: Combat Evolved. ''However, the slight heartbeat can no longer be heard. Difficulty The four difficulty levels from ''Halo: Combat Evolved ''return, and are largely unchanged. However, Legendary is made slightly more challenging due to the change in gameplay pace. There a four difficulties in ''Halo 2: *Easy : "Your foes cower and fall before your unstoppable onslaught, yet final victory will leave you wanting more." *Normal : "Hordes of aliens vie to destroy you, but nerves of steel and a quick trigger finger will give you a solid chance to prevail." *Heroic : "Your enemies are as numerous as they are ferocious; their attacks are devastating. Survival is not guaranteed." *Legendary : "You face opponents who have never known defeat, who laugh in alien tongues at your efforts to survive. This is suicide." Enemies AI in Halo 2 ''is slightly improved over that of its predecessor, although largely the same. Battle tactics, accuracy and vehicular ability are all consistent with the previous game, but slight improvements also include the ability to taunt the player, physically and verbally, as well as being able to hide and ambush them when they go by. This is incorporated well into the game, along with a wider variety of enemy types and factions. Four factions of enemies are encountered in the game: *'The Covenant': The main antagonists of the game, the Covenant are encountered in every level of the game, even during the levels where they are featured as allies. The Covenant Empire is a range of different species rather than one, and the player, as opposed to the four in the previous game, will encounter those original four, along with two new species, along with a third that isn't fought during combat. The Grunts, Jackals, Elites and Hunters from ''Halo: Combat Evolved reappear, but with slight variations, graphical improvements and weapon variation. Two new species are: the Brutes, who are quite self-explanatory. Brutish creatures, much like sentient grizzly bears, the brutes despise the Elites, and are quite ferocious in combat. They will go berserk when provoked, soak up considerable damage, and are known to eat the flesh of dead humans. And then there are the Drones, who are insectoid creatures with wings that come in large swarms. They usually descend upon their enemies in huge numbers with light weapons, usually tearing them apart or simply overwhelming them with their speed and verocity. The Covenant also have a larger array of weapons, turrets and vehicles this time around. **'Covenant Loyalists': Not encountered until later in the game, during the events of the Great Schism. Largely the same, except they are solely comprised of the Brutes, Jackals and Drones. **'Covenant Separatists': Not ecnountered until later in the game, during the events of the Great Schism. Largely the same, except they are solely comprised of the Elites, Grunts and Hunters. *'The Heretics': Encountered briefly during the player's initial time as the Arbiter, and only during the levels The Arbiter and Oracle. The Heretics are a splinter faction of the Covenant that seceeded from it due to their discovery of the true purpose of the Halo rings, thanks to 343 Guilty Spark, and are led by Sesa 'Refumee. Not significant in terms of overall gameplay, their appearance is extremely minor. They comprise of only two species: Grunts and Elites, however their design is unique, and different to that of standard Covenant. However, they use the same weapons as normal Covenant, but have their own variant of the Banshee called the Heretic Banshee. After the death of Sesa 'Refumee and the destruction of the Threshold Gas Mine, the Heretics never appeared in-game again. *'The Flood': Returning from Halo: Combat Evolved ''is the parasitic entity known as the Flood, who have a decreased significance to the game from its predecessor. This is because the Flood have already been revealed, somewhat lessening the impact of their appearance. They first appear on the level Oracle, and from there on appear periodically throughout the game. It can be noted that John-117 almost never encounters the Flood, only doing so during the level High Charity. Most of the Flood encounters are by the Arbiter, Thel 'Vadamee. The Flood differ little from their predecessors in ''Halo: Combat Evolved, aside from the odd graphical improvement. The types are the same: Infection Forms, Combat Forms (still limited to human and elite versions) and the Carrier Forms. Their purpose is largely the same, although the combat forms now have access to more weaponry. However, the Flood now have the ability to mount vehicles (this can only be observed on the level Quarantine Zone, however), and, if enough firepower is applied, their corpses can be completely destroyed, getting rid of the 'random reincarnation' aspect. Some Elite Combat Forms also come with energy shields. *'Sentinels': Unlike in Halo: Combat Evolved, the Sentinels are never once allied with you, and remain consistent enemies throughout the game. Oddly enough, the Arbiter appears to be the only one to fight Sentinels. And unlike the Flood, where John-117 fights them at least once, Sentinels are never encountered by John-117 for the entirety of the game; only by Thel 'Vadamee. Despite this however, Sentinels remain a significant presence in the game, but only appear during the levels The Arbiter, Oracle, Sacred Icon and Quarantine Zone. They also come in far more varieties. A golden version of the Sentinel is introduced called the Sentinel Major, which fires a blue beam. A massive gunship version is also introduced called the Enforcer, which has massive frontal shields, pulse lasers and guided rockets, as well as being much harder to take down. Allies Unlike the enemy AI, the allied AI aid you in missions, fighting beside you and giving fire support. Although the AI isn't exactly the most intelligent (most of their actions are scripted), it still has its uses, especially on higher difficulties as a distraction or reinforcement. *'UNSC Marines': Just like in Halo: Combat Evolved, you will have marines fighting beside you for most of the game. Marines largely appear during the levels Cairo Station, Outskirts, Metropolis, Delta Halo, Regret, Sacred Icon (as an enemy), Gravemind and The Great Journey. While they can be generally useful during combat, they become more and more useless during higher difficulties, as they die much faster. They can also now drive vehicles, although their ability to do this is dependent on the AI's intelligence. Sometimes they will sit still and do nothing, or other times they will drive into a wall, and other times they will drive along a scripted path. Note: They are only allies when playing as John-117. However, they will be marked as allies on the level The Great Journey. *'ODSTs': Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are a new type of ally introduced in Halo 2. Also nicknamed helljumpers, ODSTs are well-known for being the special forces elite of the UNSC military, and gained their nickname for their point of entry; HEV pods deployed from orbit. In Halo 2 gameplay, their AI and overall performance is exactly the same as standard marines, along with the same array of weapons available to marines. The only difference is in their appearance instead of wearing the standard uniform, they wear their own exclusive ODST armor, which is specialized for the operations they engage in. They appear during the levels Cairo Station, Outskirts, Delta Halo and Regret. Note: They are only allies when playing as John-117. *'The Covenant': While largely enemies in the game, the Covenant will appear as allies during the sections as Thel 'Vadamee. They will do exactly the same things they did while you played as John-117, except they won't attack you. However, the Covenant Loyalists detachment will be your enemies later on. Usually, the allies you encounter are Grunts and Elites, but on the level Sacred Icon, you will get a few Jackals, and on The Great Journey, a pair of Hunters. Weapons Weapons in Halo 2 are generally larger in variety, along with more choice. Some weapons that were previously unusuable in the previous game can now be utilized with no lingering problems, as well as other older weapons being brought back, but improved. Some weapons are not brought back and removed entirely, and other weapons that were cut from the original game, are brought back into Halo 2. Some weapons also have the ability to dual-wield; meaning you can hold two of the same weapon, or one weapon and another type in akimbo at the same time. Human weapons are ballistic and use projectiles, meaning they are more useful against flesh and armor. Covenant weapons are more useful against shields and armor, and Sentinel weapons are more useful against flesh and shields. However, this may change due to the type of weapon utilized. UNSC= Usable *M6C Magnum (Dual-Wieldable) *M7 SMG (Dual-Wieldable) *BR55 Battle Rifle *M41 Rocket Launcher *M41 Vulcan LAAG *M90 Shotgun *SRS 99C-S2B Sniper Rifle *M68 Gauss Cannon *M247 Machine Gun mounted turret *Scorpion Main Gun *Scorpion Machine Gun *M9 Frag Grenade *Anti-Tank Mine (multiplayer only) |-| Covenant= Usable *Plasma Pistol (Dual-Wieldable) *Plasma Rifle (Dual-Wieldable) *Needler (Dual-Wieldable) *Energy Sword *Shade turret *Fuel Rod Gun *Plasma Turret *Particle Beam Rifle *Covenant Carbine *Scarab Gun (easter egg) *Brute Plasma Rifle (Dual-Wieldable) *Brute Shot *Ghost main guns *Fuel Rod Cannon *Spectre turret *Wraith main gun *Medium plasma cannon *Plasma Grenade Unusable *Fist of Rukt *Energy Stave *Assault Cannon *Scarab main gun *Phantom autocannon *Wraith autocannons *Weevil *Antimatter Charge |-| Forerunner= Usable *Sentinel Beam Unusable *Pulse Beams *Enforcer missile launcher |-| Vehicles Vehicles in Halo 2 ''are much larger in variety than in ''Halo: Combat Evolved. Most vehicles from that game make a reappearance in Halo 2, along with newer vehicles. Some vehicles that were cut from Halo: Combat Evolved ''are added in ''Halo 2, while improved upon or changed slightly. Some vehicles are still unusable, while others are made usable. Also, in Halo: Combat Evolved, vehicles were largely indestructible, unless there was an operator, and that was only for Covenant vehicles. However, in Halo 2, all vehicles are indestructible, except for certain ones that aren't programmed to be so. UNSC= Drivable *Warthog *Gauss Warthog *Scorpion Undrivable *Pelican *Albatross (Scenery) *Longsword *ODST Drop Pod *Tractor Unit *Uberchassis |-| Covenant= Drivable *Ghost *Banshee *Wraith *Spectre Undrivable *Phantom *Shadow *Seraph *Scarab *Tick *Covenant Drop Pod |-| The Heretics= Drivable *Heretic Banshee |-| Ships= UNSC *''Stalwart''-class light frigate **[[UNSC In Amber Clad|UNSC In Amber Clad]] *''Marathon''-class heavy cruiser **[[UNSC Feeling Lucky|UNSC Feeling Lucky]] *Orbital Defense Platform **[[Cairo Station|ODA-142 Cairo]] **[[Malta Station|ODA-143 Malta]] **[[Athens Station|ODA-144 Athens]] Covenant *CAS-class assault carrier **''Day of Jubilation'' **''Solemn Penance'' *CCS-class battlecruiser **''Pious Inquisitor'' (multiplayer map) Forerunner *Keyship **Forerunner dreadnought As can be noticed, alot of the old vehicles are now drivable, but alot of new vehicles added are not drivable. For instance, the Pelican is still not drivable, and while the Spirit dropship from Halo: Combat Evolved ''has been replaced with the Phantom dropship, the Phantom is still not a drivable vehicle. New vehicles like the Shadow and Scarab are also not drivable, as they are more campaign/objective-based vehicles, not free-reign vehicles. By extent, the Shadow only appears on the level Outskirts, and the Scarab only appears on Outskirts, Metropolis and The Great Journey, respectively. However, vehicles like the Wraith, which was not drivable in ''Halo: Combat Evolved, are now drivable. Powerups Powerups can only be found in multiplayer. There are a total of two powerups in the game, and each one enhances gameplay aspects, giving the player advanced abilities. These are: *'Active Camouflage': Drastically reduces the player's visibility and makes them invisible; this can be found in campaign and multiplayer. This effect lasts for a total of 45 seconds. This effect is made null and void when the player is carrying: a skull, flag, hit by weapons fire, fires their weapon, fires their weapon or when time runs out. *'Overshield': Adds an additional two layers (three on enemies) of shielding. When it is active, your shield bar turns from blue to gold, and your normal shields do not take damage. Unlike Active Camo, it does not deplete over time, and only depletes once both layers have been removed by damage. However during multiplayer, it depletes over time. During this time, you can take direct hits from explosive ordinance. The player is essentially invincible to all kinds of damage, and the overshield can only be overridden by a plasma pistol overcharge bolt, or by assassination. Environment Halo 2 ''differs from its predecessor in that it has alot more variation in terms of its environments, which is largely due to the locale it takes place in. Whether it be a UNSC space station, the surface of Delta Halo, or the cityscape of Old Mombasa or High Charity. Every environment differs from the last, each with its own style and look. Each level is rendered by the game's graphics engine, and therefore limited by that same engine. The first level, ''The Heretic, is based in the Council Chamber of High Charity and the Armoury of Cairo Station. Armory ''is based in the Armoury of Cairo Station, and its numerous corridors. ''Cairo Station ''is based solely on its namesake. ''Outskirts ''is based in the streets of Old Mombasa in Africa. ''Metropolis ''is based in the streets of New Mombasa. ''The Arbiter ''and ''Oracle ''is based in the Forerunner Gas Mine in orbit over Threshold. ''Delta Halo ''and ''Regret ''are based on Delta Halo, in a jungle like terrain surrounding two large lakes, with temples and gondolas. ''Sacred Icon ''and ''Quarantine Zone ''are based in the Quarantine Zone and Installation 05's Library; a snowy area littered with Forerunner installations, either destroyed, heavily damaged or full of mazes and colossal gondolas. ''Gravemind ''and ''High Charity ''are both based in the holy city of High Charity, with numerous towers, gravity lifts, and gardens. ''Uprising ''is based on the surface of Delta Halo, in a forest-like area surrounding the Control Room with numerous trees, Forerunner installations, rivers and camps. ''The Great Journey ''is based in a canyon area leading to the Control Room and the Control Room itself, with numerous Forerunner installations, an ocean and trees. Overall, the environment variety is much more sparse than ''Halo: Combat Evolved. Either majestic and beautiful, or dark, gloomy and suspenseful. Unlike Halo: Combat Evolved, none of the levels are revisited twice'', or retraced. Multiplayer When ''Halo: Combat Evolved was released, its multiplayer services were unavailable (and still aren't) because at the time, Xbox Live hadn't launched. However, upon Halo 2's release, Xbox Live had already launched. As a result, Halo 2's had fully-equipped multiplayer services, in addition to the original's support for split-screen and System Link multiplayer. ' Halo 2'' s multiplayer mode was unique in that it offered a new approach to online gaming that intended to alleviate some of the problems that have plagued online FPS games in the past. Traditionally, for first-person shooters, one player sets his or her computer or console up as a game server host, specifying the gametype and map and configuring other settings. The game software then used a service like Xbox Live or GameSpy to advertise the game to the world at large; other players choose which game to join based upon criteria such as the map and game options each host is offering as well as the ping times they are able to receive. In ''Halo 2, Xbox Live players do not choose to host games, and they do not get to specify individual maps and options to search for. Instead, players sign up for 'playlists' that are geared up to different styles ''of play. For example, the 'Rumble Pit' playlist offers a variety of 'free-for-all' gametypes, primarily Slayer or variations there of; "Team Skirmish" offers a number of 4-on-4 team games, which are primarily objective-based games like Capture the Flag; "Big Team Battle Skirmish" is similar to Team Skirmish but allows teams of up to 8 players. Other playlists allow various things such as matches between different clans. The Xbox Live servers create games automatically from the pool of players that have signed up for each playlist, choosing a game type and map automatically and selecting one player to serve as the game's host. Players can create small "parties" with their friends and enter games together as teammates or, in Rumble Pit, adversaries. They can also play custom gametypes like regular multiplayer. Unranked gametypes allow people on the same Xbox console without an Xbox Live account to play with them as "guests". If the Xbox console hosting the game drops out, the Xbox Live service automatically selects a new host from among the remaining players so the game can continue. Since launching in November 2004, the service has been very popular with gamers. While some players resent the loss of individual control inherent in ''Halo 2's approach to online gaming, others feel it provides a significantly improved gaming experience compared to more traditional online First-person shooters. Bungie's servers match players by skill level, which produces notably balanced matches that players often consider fair and enjoyable. The automatic host selection process also eliminates the ability of the host to exert outsize control over the parameters of the game. Halo 2 players with Microsoft Passport accounts can log on to bungie.net and obtain extremely detailed statistics on their performance, including level maps for several hundred of the player's most recent games that indicate graphically where and when the player scored a kill or was killed him or herself. On April 15, 2010, the Halo 2 multiplayer services, along with all other original Xbox Live services, were discontinued. Maps The game comes with a large assortment of maps within the game, as these vary in unique terrain, location and what weapons and vehicles they have. Some maps are not built for vehicles, and therefore won't have them. Some maps are designed for certain gametypes and barely support others; it depends on the map. Halo 2 was the first game to have map packs, which were released as DLC, and the Halo 2 Vista ''version has maps exclusive to that version. Standard= |-| Bonus= The Bonus map pack is a downloadable content package for ''Halo 2. It was released on April 25, 2005 as a free download sponsored by Mountain Dew. The map pack came with two maps. Standard Edition The standard edition of the game includes the disk and manual, and has remained unchanged since the game's release. This edition has ceased production, along with the original Xbox itself. Classics Edition As it was one of the most renowned games for the original Xbox, Halo 2 received an Xbox Classics edition. This edition featured all the content of the standard edition, but at a lower price, and with different, commemorative box art. This edition is no longer produced. Best of Classics Edition Even among other Xbox Classics games, Halo 2 had a massive amount more sales than most games - 3 million more than the next highest, Halo: Combat Evolved. Therefore, it also received a Best of Xbox Classics edition. This edition is identical to the Xbox Classics edition, but with different box art. Along with all other editions of the game, the Best of Classics edition was discontinued with the Xbox's replacement with the Xbox 360. Platinum Hits Edition Its record-breaking sales also earned Halo 2 a Platinum Hits edition, which contained the same content as the standard edition but with a grey plastic case (rather than green) and commemorative box art. This edition is no longer being produced. Limited Collector's Edition The limited edition of Halo 2 was available for pre-order before the game's release. This Limited Collector's edition was produced in limited numbers, and contained additional content, such as a steelbook case, limited edition manual, Conversations from the Universe booklet and Behind the Scenes DVD. This edition stopped production upon the game's release. Marketing Promotions and Release I Love Bees : Main Article: I Love Bees Much like the Cortana Letters for Halo: Combat Evolved, I Love Bees was used during the marketing campaign for Halo 2. ''It was a site used mainly for the promotion of ''Halo 2, as well as having its own countdown to Halo 2's release. The campaign began in the summer of 2004. The site is still currently active, with its countdown being for the day the Covenant attack Earth. Ostensibly, it is a beekeeper's personal website, which is then taken over by an unstable AI, whose thoughts become scattered all over the site. The site can be found here. Announcement : Main Article: Halo 2 Announcement Trailer In 2002, Bungie released their first glimpse of Halo 2 in the form of an announcement trailer. The video was pre-rendered, and did not represent any gameplay aspects. The trailer featured John-117 in his brand new MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI preparing for battle on a space station (presumably Cairo Station). Cortana is also heard and has dialogue with John. It featured the space station in a similiar situation to that of the opening events of the game; in orbit over Earth, where the Covenant are in the process of attacking it, a fleet of CCS-Class Battlecruisers (in the game, they are replaced by two CAS-Class Assault Carriers). Comms and static can be heard, which give away one detail: the UNSC is losing (this is different from the game, where the UNSC are winning). It also depicts John-117 jumping out of the airlock, except without a bomb, and he heads towards one of the battlecruisers. E3 2003 : Main Article: Halo 2 E3 2003 Demo At E3 2003, Bungie released footage of a playable in-game demo of the Halo 2 campaign. The demo featured a large battle on Earth in the streets of New Mombasa (an early version of the level Metropolis). The demo started out with a pan of the New Mombasa skyline (take note that the Space Elevator is nowhere to be seen; only a masssive spire of buildings clumped together), with a Pelican heading towards it. Onboard, John-117, Cortana and Sergeant Johnson reside. Upon reaching it, the Pelican descends, lands, and deploys a squad of marines onto the ground, with dialogue said that is almost identical to that of the final game. John-117 preceeds to make his way across the street, where Perez is taking him to his CO, Marcus Banks. They then make their way up a flight of stairs to a balcony, where several marines are engaged in combat with Covenant below, one even with a Machine Gun. Perez takes cover, calling out to another marine when an explosion rocks the balcony. John-117 then moves out and begins to assist in taking out the Covenant troops below, while a Weevil Artillery piece fires in the background (in the final game, it is replaced with the Scarab). He continues to take out numerous Covenant soldiers (Grunts and Jackals), before moving down to meet Banks, who is hidden behind a piece of concrete; the Weevil can be heard firing again. Just as Banks states they must take it out, the Weevil fires again, its plasma bolt hitting a nearby skyscraper, causing a tremendous explosion. The player proceeds to eliminate the Grunts and Jackals in the streets below, using a Machine Gun to aid him while Banks calls in air support. Eventually, a Longsword pilot named Major Easley responds, and not long after, comes through, bombing the Weevil and destroying it. Turning to Banks, he offers you his SMG, where Bungie shows off their new dual-wielding system; already wielding an SMG, John-117 takes the second one, and dual-wields them, before moving down and across the street below. Take note that when he engages the Grunts and Jackals, their plasma pistols have the sound of plasma rifles from the final game. Moving across, we see a few Jackals in a sort of phalanx formation (which is not seen in the final game). They are quickly overrun by Warthogs, one of which is accessed by John-117; the one used is a Gauss Warthog. Using its main weapon, he quickly destroys a passing Shadow. They quickly move down the street, engaging two more Shadows on the street below. Moving further down, they engage more Jackals, followed by a few Ghosts. Moving further down, they destroy yet another Shadow. They proceed to destroy several more Ghosts, before a Phantom passes overhead. They continue into a side street, where another Phantom appears. This one deploys a trio of Brutes, one of which leaps onto the leading Warthog, and proceeds to kill the driver and passenger. Another Brute drops onto the player's warthog, proceeding to wack both the passenger, and then driver out, in that order (in the final game, a hijacking enemy only removes the driver). John-117 leaves the warthog and moves around, bashing the Brute with a couple of melee attacks (note that Brutes in the demo are much easier to kill than in the final game). The other Brutes proceed to fire their brute shots at the player, and the player destroys a car next to one Brute, which explodes and kills it, leaving the player to kill the last one with his battle rifle. Before he can do this however, two Ghosts appear. He kills the first driver with his dual SMGs before hijacking the other, kicking out the Brute driver. He proceeds to run down one Brute, before fleeing, triggering the ending cutscene. Most of the gameplay and cutscenes shown in the demo either didn't appear in the final game, or were completely reworked. For more information, read the main article. E3 2004 : Main Article: Halo 2 E3 2004 Multiplayer Demo At E3 2004, Bungie released footage of a playable in-game demo of the Halo 2 '' multiplayer. The demo featured the map Zanzibar and displayed two playable character models: a Spartan and Elite. It also showed off some of the weaponry in the game and some of the special features, including sword lunging and dual-wielding. The Battle Rifle, SMG, Needler, Rocket Launcher and Energy Sword were displayed. Gauss Warthog and Ghost also made an appearance. Some features included the new lock-on feature for the Rocket Launcher, the dual-wielding ability, explosive barrels, the boosting on the Ghost, vehicle hijacking, the horn on the Warthog, Gauss Cannon and Sword Lunging. Afterwards, unlike the campaign demo a year before, fans were allowed to play the demo. Reception ''Halo 2 was very successful in sales. In company with PlayStation 2's hit of the year, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, it was the most sought-after video game among critics and gamers in 2004. Three weeks prior to launch, stores in the U.S. alone had pre-sold 1.5 million copies of the game to consumers. When it launched for the Xbox on the 9th of November, over 7000 video game, toy and electronics stores in the U.S. opened at midnight to welcome fanatical fans. Halo 2 instantly began to prosper. One national retailer sold 8,500 copies of the game in just 11 minutes, and another had sold 200,000 units by daybreak. One single store sold 500 Halo 2 units in three hours, 350 of them being sold between midnight and 1 a.m. Early on the launch day, Microsoft expected Halo 2 to generate more money in 24 hours on store shelves than any game had done before. Moore said “I'm calling a $100 million day on Halo today.” Halo 2 went on to be the success that Microsoft was anticipating, selling approximately 2.4 million copies in North America in 24 hours, generating $125 million. The video game software retailer GameStop sold more than half a million Halo 2 copies in one day. In Australia, where more than 42,000 gamers had pre-ordered the game prior to its release, Halo 2 shattered retail sales records by selling more than 104,000 units in no more than one week after launch, generating nine million dollars and beating the previous record holder by 38,000 copies. In Canada, Halo 2 succeeded in selling 222,000 units in its debut month, making it the biggest premiere month for any game up to Grand Theft Auto IV. Before its release in New Zealand, more than 8000 units of Halo 2 had been pre-sold. Three weeks after its release, Halo 2 had sold over 5 million copies, making it the second-best selling Xbox game, with approximately 19% of all Xbox owners possessing a copy of Halo 2. The game also had the most successful opening night of any game up until Halo 3, and, later, Grand Theft Auto 4. The game had a generally amazing reception, gaining a 9.7 out of 10 from OXM (10 out of 10 from its Australian counterpart), a 9.8 out of 10 from IGN, a 10 out of 10 from Game Informer, a 9 out of 10 from Play Magazine, and a 5 out of 5 from X-Play. It gained more Game of The Year awards in 2004 than any other game that year. X-Play, in late 2006, included it as #3 in their top 4 greatest shooters of all time (#4 was Resistance, #2 Half-Life 2, and #1 was Gears of War). In early 2007, it made #8 on their top 10 Games of All Time countdown. The game had an average meta-score of 95 out of 100, making it the 3rd most critically acclaimed Xbox game, right behind Halo: Combat Evolved and the Grand Theft Auto Triple Pack. The games multiplayer was held to be one of the best of all time, staying consistently number 1 the most played Xbox Live title from November 2004 up until November 2006, when Gears of War released. Generally, the game was positively received. Multiplayer especially was noted in being the best on Xbox Live at the time. Game Informer, along with numerous other publications, rated it higher than Halo: Combat Evolved. Halo 2 received multiple awards, including Best Console game of the month and in a GT Countdown Halo 2 was ranked number one in a countdown of the top ten multiplayer games. Most critics noted that Halo 2 stuck with the formula that made its predecessor successful, and was alternatively praised and faulted for this decision. Edge noted in its review, “It's fitting that we're able to steal a line from the script to sum everything up. No spoilers here, just an epitaph, from the moment Cortana turns to Master Chief and says this: 'It’s not an original plan. But we know it’ll work.'" According to Xbox.com, the game has received more than 38 individual awards. The game's campaign mode has received some criticism for being too short, in addition to some dissatisfaction with the abrupt, cliffhanger ending that sets up the sequel, Halo 3. GameSpot noted that the story switching between the Covenant and Human factions made the plot more intricate, but also distracted the player from Earth's survival and the main point of the game. There is also some criticism of the game's on-the-fly streaming and level of detail adjustment, which can sometimes result in textures loading erroneously and "popping in" when the camera changes in cutscenes. Bungie has stated that this issue had been fixed for Halo 3 and the Windows Vista port. In an interview with Edge magazine in January 2007, Jaime Greisemer, one of Halo's design leads, said that the main reason for'' Halo 2's shortcomings was a lack of "polish" period near the end of the development cycle. Staff member Frank O’Connor admitted the cliffhanger ending was abrupt, noting “we drove off Thelma & Louise style". Nonetheless, in the interview Greisemer promised that they would make ''Halo 3 a more than worthy successor. Halo 2 was released November 9, 2004. The game was one of the most highly anticipated games on the Xbox and went on to sell more than the original. On the morning of October 14, 2004, a leak of the French version of the game was posted on the Internet, and circulated widely. Microsoft, the parent company of Bungie, tried to contain the spread, and pledged to bring legal action against anyone who spread the leaked version. Regardless, Microsoft later touted that there were 1.5 million pre-orders for Halo 2 in the United States alone and that this guaranteed it to have the largest first-day revenue of any game or movie ever. The game sold 2.4 million copies and earned up to $125 million US in its first 24 hours on store shelves. As of March 2006, the game has sold over eight million copies worldwide. Rereleases *'2005' - Rereleased as part of the Halo Triple Pack ''which included the ''Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack. *'2007' - Rereleased as part of the Halo History Pack ''which included ''Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 ''and a sneak peek of ''Halo 3, and as part of Xbox LIVE's Xbox Originals. Halo 2 Original Soundtrack The Halo 2 Original Soundtrack was composed for the game, Halo 2, and was composed by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, and is split into two volumes on two CDs. Altogether, there are 32 tracks on the soundtrack. Most of the music from Halo 2 is present on the CDs, but some tracks are missing entirely, and some are only remixes of the actual tracks played in-game or shortened versions. Volume 1 was released with the game but sold seperately, while Volume 2 was released on April 25, 2006. Cut Content : Main Article: Cut Content from the Halo Games Halo 2 ''is possibly the ''Halo ''game with the most cut content. Amongst this cut content is missing campaign levels, scripts, characters, weapons, vehicles, maps and more. For more information, see the main article. Trivia *Jason Jones is well-known for establishing the quote "''Halo 2 ''is alot like ''Halo 1, only it's Halo 1 on fire, going 130 miles per hour through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas. And, the ninjas are on fire too." This led to the famous line of inside jokes, patches and T-shirts, user names, and memes of flaming ninjas. *There are 21,090 lines of dialogue, most of them randomly triggered during combat. *''Halo 2 has been stated to be the reason that there is a limit to the number of friends on the friends list, and to get around that limit, Microsoft would have to end original Xbox Live compatibility. *In the final days prior to the deactivation of ''Halo 2 's ''multiplayer', 'Bungie added new sayings to the ''Did You Know? section of the lobby including messages of thanks to Halo 2 ''fans for staying supportive for the half decade that it was active and hints about ''Halo Reach 's gameplay. Many of these were worded in a humorous manner, though several were outright jokes. *''Halo 2'' has been played for about one hundred million hours on Xbox since its release. *If you've played this game with your current LIVE account before April 14, 2010, you will unlock the Halo 2 nameplate in Halo Reach. ''This will ultimately be unlocked on Day 1. *''Halo 2 ''was the first game in this franchise to use ragdoll physics. *''Halo 2 ''remains the only ''Halo ''game to date to feature songs created by musical artists as part of its original soundtrack (artists featured included Breaking Benjamin, Hoobastank and Incubus). *The credits of ''Halo 2 ''gave a special thanks to Nightmare Armor. *The Limited Edition Collector's Disc of ''Halo 2 ''showed the Hummer, which was an early version of the Warthog. *''Halo 2 ''is the only game in the series not to feature an Assault Rifle of some description. *This is the first ''Halo ''game to feature boss battles. Trailers Gallery Wallpaper_halo_2_13_1024.jpg|Halo 2 Wallpaper Images_(13).jpg|Halo 2 Promotional Poster CP.52.jpg|Promotional Poster for the Arbiter CP.53.jpg|An SMG (right) and Plasma Rifle (left) being dual-wielded in multiplayer halo2logo.jpg|''Halo 2 title art cmdstore_2270_350308037.jpg|''Halo 2'' logo Links Internal Links *''Halo 2'' Credits *List of Halo 2: Did You Know? Quotes *List of "Seven" references in Halo *[[Early Halo 2 script|Early Halo 2 script]] *Character Compatibility *Halo 2 Vista External Links *[https://www.bungie.net/Games/Halo2/ Bungie's Official Halo 2 site] *Halo 2 Easter Eggs *Xbox.com's Official Halo 2 Site *"Frankie's Bungie Updates" References